good morning. whiteout, heavy snow moves into the northeast, leading to a new round of headaches coast-to-coast. thousands of passengers stranded by a backlog of canceled flights, as we get frightening new images of one of the tornadoes spawned by that system in the south. back to work. president obama flying home from hawaii this morning to try and get a deal on the fiscal cliff with the deadline just five days away now, but are the two sides even talking? 36 million hits and counting. the videos that made us laugh, cry and cringe in 2012. we are going to look back at four of the year's most talked about internet sensations as the

stars of them join us live in the studios, thursday, december 27th, 2012. from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning. welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm savannah guthrie. >> i'm willie geist in this morning for matt. we have the party music on for a reason. it's someone's birthday in this room today. happy birthday, savannah. >> thank you. i'm getting my musical request for today. a little techovibe. >> we will have the carbon daters to take us back to the day you were born. >> do you need to tweet out my age? >> i gave some hints. >> turning 30, very excited about that. >> we'll let you have that one.

>> a lot of wind in the new york area. other parts of the northeast, it is a blanket of snow. >> other areas could see two feet by the time the storm is done. mark zuckerberg's own sister with a post of holiday settings she said was posted just for friends and how did it end up being viewed by tens of thousands of strangers. and a remarkable affaquariu with tens of thousands of sharks burst. >> i might have had a mirm lini like that recently. now, we go to the christmas travelers. and mike seidel is just outside buffalo, new york this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. in buffalo, they picked up 11 inches. this is a city that averages 8

feet of snow a season. until yesterday they were in a snow drought and until yesterday only had about 6 inches. that's ended now. >>, high winds, dangerous driving conditions, all part of the powerful winter storm hitting the northeast this morning. in the suburbs of new york city, where they're still struggling in the aftermath of hurricane sandy. >> enough is enough now. becoming a little bit too much. >> reporter: in the suburbs of new york city, where they're still struggling in the aftermath of hurricane sandy. by windy night, the heavy snow in connecticut reduced visibility and blanket the roads. >> frustrating, especially going down the hills. >> reporter: a similar scene in massachusetts, where drivers are taking it extra slow. the snow is causing headaches at the airports, over 7,000 flights stranded. and in the northeast, the

weather system pounded parts of the midwest and spawn iing 46 tornadoes in the south including this one caught on a surveillance tape at a walgreens in ohio. in kentucky, authorities were on the scene in dozens of accidents. in arkansas, thousands were left without power after the snow dumped 15 inches in part of the state. little rock saw its snowiest christmas ever. >> beautiful here but it is just too cold and the power is out and i don't like it when the power is out. >> i'm from iowa originally. i moved here about 30 years ago to get way from this. >> reporter: overnight, winds gusted to hurricane force on the jersey shore. they can't get a break after hurricane sandy. and thunder in new york central park. this weather system has impacted coast-to-coast, either the

entire country getting snow, wind or rain or tornadoes. >> a lot of us heard that thunder in new york city. >> over 9300 flights have been cancelled or delayed by the storm and more problems today. erica hill is at laguardia's airport. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. up until 15, 20 minutes ago, there weren't many delays at laguardia. we're just learning there is a delay of an hour for inbound flights because of wind issues. almost 40 flights cancelled at new arc. over 350 flight cancellations so far this morning, most in the northeast, much better than the numbers yesterday where we saw more than 1600 flights cancelled because of this storm. many people are still stranded, trying to get home from their christmas holiday. the good news is american and delta we spoke with giving most

of these cancellation, said in most cases they will reissue the ticket or do a change without a fee. you need to check with the airline. good news there. if you do have a flight today, the thing to do is check with the airport before you leave your house. don't forget to use your phone and you may want to hit twitter if you're looking for instant response. a lot of people feeling better about today and a lot of people strand aid cross the country and we will see a lot of changes as we saw in laguardia. >> erica hill at laguardia airport. thanks. the weather channel maria larosa keeping an eye on the storm where it's headed today. >> it's still impacting the northeast. watches and warnings in purple including new york state to maine. what you're not seeing, it's still quite gusty. even though it's not snowing or raining, you will see airport delays because of gusty winds. >> cover from the outer rondex.

on up to maine. i-95 is green but just enough to keep things ponding on the roadways. tough tough travel. major interstates affected including massachusetts pike. if you're headed home after the holidays, it is going to be a tough ride. these are additional snow mount s for the next 24 hours. looking at a foot to foot and a half of snow in the next 24 hours from albany to maine. savannah. >> thank you. from the winter storm to the political storm over the fiscal cliff, president obama is returning to washington this morning to try and work out a deal. with just five days left now, is there enough time? nbc's white house correspondent, peter alexander, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you and most importantly happy birthday to you. the president hopes to bring back sunshine from hawaii, 38 degrees here and 72 in

hallelujhonolulu. today, aides on both sides say no new negotiations are scheduled and no evidence of any post christmas compromise. >> reporter: cutting his christmas vacation short, president obama left hawaii overnight for washington trying to orchestrate a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff deadline just in the nick of time. if not, the consequences will be severe. more than a half trillion dollars in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts, not that lawmakers are necessarily feeling the urgency. congress is at least officially in session today but house members, most still at home haven't even been called back to the capitol. aides on both sides including republican leaders haven't spoken in days. >> washington remains in the same fiscal cliff clitalks. >> reporter: senator leader

harry reid and john boehner are both frosty saying it's in the other guy's court saying to avert the largest tax hike in history and reid saying it's time for house republicans to put middle class families first. >> if we go past no deal, the markets are likely to decline in a significant way and involve most americans and they don't want to have themselves blamed for that. >> reporter: already stocks have dropped three days in a row over fiscal cliff fears. from wall street to main street, it is building. >> both parties to are to blame if they don't come up with something. >> we are really in what amounts to a fiscally irresponsible position trying to please everyone and please no one at all. >> reporter: even starbucks tries to hand out advice writing "come together" on every cup. >> reporter: washington could use a warm cup of coffee on a

morning like this. complica complicating conversations going forward. treasury secretary, timothy geithner says on the 31st, the u.s. will hit the credit card limit, the debt limit and will have to take extraordinary measures to pay its bills. >> peter alexander, at the white house. chuck todd is the chief white house correspondent and political director. good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah. >> it's five days before going over the fiscal cliff. we know the president is coming back to washington but will lawmakers meet him there? are lawmakers even talking at this point? >> reporter: it's unbelievable. it's been ten days since there has been a meaningful conversation between the president and any republican, in that case, speaker boehner. ten day, any exchange of proposals, any back and forth trying to come up with something. since then, total political paralysis and doesn't look like

anything more is going to happen. harry reid saying i won't bring anything to the senate floor or call a vote until i know for sure the republicans in the senate and republicans in the house will actually take whatever bill they come up with an put it on the floor. it's looking more and more likely this is we will go over this proverbial cliff, won't be over it very long, you know the way washington works. two weeks in they can pass a law retroactively and roll back the tax things but doesn't appear someh somehow new year's eve and january 1st scares these guys into doing anything. >> the grand bargain of tax reform seems a distant thought. whether it comes before or after, how do you think they will do a deal? >> reporter: it appears the white house has made a decision they won't try for a big deal anymore. whether that's a good political idea or not, we'll see. they could try to do one more big deal, try to see if politically they get the

republicans to either say yes to them or refuse them one more time in trying to gain higher political ground. at this point, they seem to be convinced the republicans aren't going to work with them so try to come up with a quote minimal deal creating that line at $250,000 in income and trying to extend those tax rates and basically postpone the fight until february. peter brought up the debt ceiling, secretary geithner said we have hit it essentially. they can move money around and delay the impact of that another couple of months so there has to be a vote in congress. at that point, the question is, does that trigger the idea of a grand bargain or big deal. they're not even speak, savannah. they're not even having basic communication. so the idea they will come up with a temporary compromise seems far-fetched. >> chuck todd in pensacola, florida, for us, thank you so much. >> you got it. use your birthday wish for it. >> good idea.

thanks so much. >> i didn't know i had a birthday wish. i used it on the dance music at the top of the show. sorry. >> that came and went. to the other top stories of the morning. natalie morales. good morning. >> good morning to you, willie and the birthday girl and everyone in the news. former president george h.w. bush is in intensive care at the houston hospital. the 88-year-old is alert and talking but in guarded condition with a stubborn fever. the 41st president has been hospitalized since late november. he was admitted for a lingering cough and bronchitis. former south africa president nelson mandela has been admitted to the hospital after being hospitalized. he was treated for a lung infection and gallstones. the government said mandela will receive top level care at his home after he's fully recovered. the late senator inouye's

successor lands in washington aboard air force one. schatz was tapped for senator and goes against inouye's final wish for colleen han abusa take over. and the supreme court justice sonya say it to otomayo a request to stop a mandated contraceptive pill. and still weighing the markets down, right? >> absolutely. as you can imagine, the markets are waiting on the edge of their seats for any deal on the budget crisis or fiscal cliff, as we call it and a lot of ceos are telling us once that uncertainty is lifted, it will give them more confidence to lift or high more people. all in all, it's been a good

year for stocks. s&p up 13% this year. the pick heavy nasdaq is up nearly 15%. we'll see what next year brings us. back to you. >> we'll take the silver lining. a terrifying scene at a shanghai shopping center. an aquarium filled with sharks cracked and shattered sending the creatures and tons of water on to visitors. luckily they were lemon sharks harm loss to humans. three sharks did die. some 15 people were injured by broken glass. the mall has no plan s s to bri back the aquarium. this brings back jaws 3d, remember that movie? >> no. i'm trying to forget it. >> terrifying. this is a busy weekend in the weather department. >> every kind of weather has been coming at us. we still have it going in the northeast with the snow and rain and i-95 corridor and winds. we've seen them gust over 60

miles an hour. travel will be highly impacted even if the snow and rain has ended where you are. a nice break in the south and southeast, it is chilly and below average. look to the west, bringing much needed snow for the ski resorts. it will come out in the central and southern plains with another round of snow and eventually pushing to the south and northeast with other round of wet weather. it is sunny in southern california. that's the weather in your country and we'll get to the local forecast right after this. ? [ woman ] oh, i don't want to look. ♪ [ woman ] let's get it over with. ♪ satisfaction! satisfaction! pizzazz! pizzazz! confidence. i like it! joy! [ female announcer ] tell us...

what will you gain when you lose? >> temperatures starting off above freezing. temperatures hold steady into the afternoon with increasing winds. that's a look at your weather. willie, over to you. thank you. the sister of mark zuckerberg finds herself in the middle of a photo flap an image she thought she shared only with friends somehow made its way to twitter. >> reporter: it's a family photo

made for facebook featuring the founder himself. notice the guy in the hoody? none other than mark zuckerberg on his sister's personal facebook page. the problem is it ended up on twitter and randi was not happy, tweeting, not sure where you got this photo. i posted it to friends only on facebook. you reposting it to twitter is way undool. thought, oh, my, this is the most ironic thing that's ever happened. somebody in the facebook's n nuclear family complaining about the privacy settings. the woman who posted the tweeted, callie schweitzer responded sorry. it came up in my feed and thought it was public. >> sorry. i'm just sensitive to private photos becoming news. the entire exchange was posted on viral buzzfeed. >> it was not that the zuckerbergs were having a family

moment, even those in the zuckerberg family, his sister, who worked for facebook for a time, is finding this so difficult. >> reporter: others picked this up prompted backlash against randi. if the zuckerbergs can't even figure out facebook's privacy settings how are we going to. some found it ironic, she was pushing for privacy on a company about sharing. >> our mission is to make the world more open and connected. >> the idea of complaining about that, hey, we wanted to share this but we wanted it to be private and controlled, strikes at least me, a little bit about wanting to have your cake and eat it too. >> reporter: neither randi zuckerberg, member of nbc digital advisory committee nor mark zuckerberg would comment on this story. she did share digital et get, always ask permission before posting a friend's photo publicly. it's not about privacy settings,

it's about human decency. >> i have to confess i don't know anything about facebook or privacy settings. >> a show of hands if you understand how the photo got on to twitter. i don't quite get it myself. >> apparently the privacy settings is the issue that was -- it created some confusion. i guess the sister posted it and then it got -- she thought she was posting it to the privacy setting and got published to 40,000 people sent out. >> and tweeted out from there. >> and tweeted out. >> i'm still trying to figure out my fax machine. i'm not helpful. >> this is why i don't do facebook. my picture with my dog is the only thing i post. that's it. all those other pictures stay private. >> clearly, we're not the panel to have analyzed this story. >> we don't know either. coming up, a newspaper drawing criticism from publishing the name and addresses of handgun owners in

the wake of a school shooting in connecticut. more on the travel nightmare from the huge winter storm across the northeast. first, this is "today," nbc.

coming up, we catch up with the stars of the 2012 most popular online videos here live. >> after your local news. a ve keig vue brewer? oh, it's great! now i can brew my coffee just the way i love it. how do you do that? well, inside the brewer, there's this train that's powerful enough to carry more coffee and fresh water to make coffee that's stronger and bigger... and even hotter! actually, i just press this button. brew the coffee you love -- stronger, bigger, or hotter -- with the keurig vue.

yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's clearance time! up to 50% off seasonal decor. 50% off toys. apparel $3 to $9. walmart. of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪ and feel like a green giant. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card

and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. start saving at citi.com/pricerewind. but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! ♪ spread a little love my way ♪ spread a little something to remember ♪ ♪ spread a little joy and see ♪ need a little happiness to be ♪ ♪ living the life with me

[ female announcer ] philadelphia cream cheese. made with fresh milk and real cream. it makes your holiday recipes, everyone's holiday favorites. ♪ >> this is wbal-tv 11 news. >> good morning. the time right now is 7:26. in a little more than 30 minutes, the maryland casino will open its doors for good because they will begin 24-hour operations. table games are expected to start sometime next month. the other two casinos will open overnight on weekends only. now it is time for a check on

the morning commute. >> good morning, everyone. the good news is the accidents we have been tracking are now clear. northbound 95, at the accident off to the right shoulder. otherwise looking pretty good. 63 miles per hour making your way in from 29 on eastbound interstate 70. on the belt way, this is what it looks like. so far, so good on the harrisburg expressway. 95 at mcdonnell, some police activity. southbound 95 looks good. that is the very latest. >> starting out above the freezing mark for most. 37 degrees right now at the airport, 40 degrees and ocean

city and much closer to the freezing mark near the pennsylvania line. do be careful north and west of the city for black ice. pretty steady with the temperatures this afternoon. the winds picking up, gusting up to 45 mile per hour this afternoon. by saturday, another winter storm could be coming our way.>

morning. it's the 27th of december, 2012. folks in gardner, massachusetts, waking up to a fresh blanket of snow, the system impacting thousands of travelers all across the country today. here in new york, a cold morning after the system brought a wintry mix of high winds to our area. good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie, alongside willie geist, in for matt today. >> and behind the new program that will show you what you will look like for decades to come. not sure we want to look at it and allows you to do it. >> it does have an impact. going too far, a newspaper

jumps into the debate of gun control by publishing names and addresses of people with gun permits, part of the public record. the paper says t-- public says paper crossed the line. and in maine, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. it will be the last stop for this storm that stretched from the west where they got a big white christmas and now into the northeast. if you're here this christmas holidays or new year's and planning a ski trip for the family, vermont, maine, up to 2 feet in the mountains. you might be smiling this morning. if you are traveling, you might be frowning. hundreds and hundreds of flights canceling, approaching at least 2,0 2,000. and you try to get back to normal as folks return to work and a lot of frustrating across the country.

maine, late december, it snows. that hasn't been the case much this season and reaching back to last season with a winter that wasn't. it is a change of pace and everyone getting back into their winter mode. dean martin said it best, it is a marshmallow world we live in savannah, 65% is covered with winter snow compared to 24% this time last year. >> all right. eric fisher in maine, thank you. >> how about dean martin at this hour of the day? for more on the storms, we head out to maria larosa in for al. >> what's your name? >> alisa. >> you got to see just enough of the snow? >> right. >> some of us are getting to see a lot of the snow. take a look. in some areas of the northeast, another foot and travel is difficult and very cold. we have temperatures in the single digits and northern plains and into the 20s and central plains and below average. across the northeast, still

watching that with the winds. the next focus is into the west, where more snow there will come out into the central plains with more wet weather as we wrap up th >> the wind will be picking up. there are some flurries out to the north and west. temperatures hold pretty steady remember, you can check your local forecast 24/7 at weather.com. willie, back to you. >> thanks a lot. a suburban newspaper is making national headlines on the gun control story.

katie is here. >> good morning. >> call baitle between first and second amendment, the paper published every licensed gun and pistol owner west of rochester county and in the suburbs of good schools and now privacy and now it is a little harder to come by, at least if you own a gun. scroll over each red dot and you will find name and address of every handgun owner in rockland and westchester county. they obtained the news under the freedom of information law under the wake of the sandy hook massacre and it has thousands up in arms in social media, claiming among other things, invasion of privacy. one writes the paper is treating legal gun owners like criminals. another says this is the most disgusting act of journalism ever. you guys must be desperate to sell your trashy paper. one went as far to publish the

names and addresses of the publishers reporters and editors. >> both sides are prepared for the biggest battle over gun control in 20 years. >> 48,000 americans will be killed with illegal guns. >> if it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our school to protect our children, then call me crazy. >> reporter: in a statement, "to the yourjournal news" has been part of that dialogue and said our readers are understandably interested to read about guns in our neighborhood. john, who asked we not use his last name legally owns more than one gun and was listed on the site. >> as licensed legal gun owners, it puts us in the same light as illegal people. >> reporter: he says he's now more concerned about the neighbors since potential robbers know that his home is protected by a gun. >> basically, it will give you a

sheet map of, hey, i won't go to this house and rob this house because they have gun, they can defend themselves. let's go target this house and break into this house. these people's lives are more in jeopardy. >> reporter: others have called for the paper to be prosecuted, likening the map to similar sex offender maps. an expert in new york state law disagrees with that comparison. >> the fact is licenses are issued in order to tell the world individuals are qualified to engage in a particular activity. >> reporter: qualified to engage in it, now for all your neighbors to see. it's important to note not everyone on the map owns a gun, just a list of everyone who has applied for and received a gun permit in the past. some permits belong to people who have a gun permit and died and meaning just because you see a certain address doesn't necessarily mean there is a gun there. >> a lot of privacy questions there. thanks so much. coming up next, facing your future, the new app that lets you age right before your own

eyes. do you like what you see? we'll catch up with 2012 top internet sensations when they join us live in the studio. first, these messages. oh it's clearance time! yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey?

[ male announcer ] it's clearance time! up to 50% off seasonal decor. 50% off toys. apparel $3 to $9. walmart. faster than mandy can hang up on mr. monday. you hang up first. [ female announcer ] in just 60 seconds, you've got snack-defying, satisfying totino's pizza rolls. [ ringing ] it's on. let's roll. totino's pizza rolls. [ ringing ] with a new project in mind, some how-to knowledge to give us an new years clutter is no match for someone with big ideas. edge, and more savings down every aisle. it only takes a few twists and turns for those bright ideas to make the new year even brighter. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. start fresh and save with hdx 20 gallon totes, a special buy at just $5.88 a piece.

daisy is 100% pure with nothing else added. meals are simply better with a dollop of daisy. ♪ ♪ do a dollop, do, do a dollop of daisy ♪ you have a plan? first we're gonna check our bags for free, thanks to our explorer card. then, the united club. my mother was so wrong about you. next, we get priority boarding on our flight i booked with miles. all because of the card. and me. okay, what's the plan? plan? mm-hmm. we're on vacation. there is no plan.

really? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. the mileage card with special perks on united. get it and you're in. ♪ real pork for real pork lovers. the one and only mcdonald's mcrib. more deliciousness to love. ♪ bada-ba-ba-ba! back now at 7:40. ever wonder how you will look in 10, 20, even 30 years? kind of scary, right? a new program designed to get

people to face requirement can show you. good morning to you. >> good morning. a little bit of shocking story. we have long known this the "ghost of christmas" ebenezer scrooge to face his future self. now, it's arrived, this time for people who airporen't saving en money. >> reporter: it's not a happy picture. what will you look like by 107. >> save up for plastic surgery. >> reporter: could this not so pretty picture get young adults to start saving. that's what dean is betting on. he and his team have spent years betting on face retirement that digitally ages what you look like today. to build a better nest egg, to show you not just what

retirement looks like but what it will cost. >> an egg today will be $9. >> this would be about the age i would probably be retiring. >> reporter: by calculation, the average 30-year-old will need a million dollars to retire by age 65. nearly half of all millennials age 18-29, have nothing saved because the thought of retirement is just too far away. >> if they can see aged photos of themselves, they get more in the mood to start saving and retirement actually becomes a reality. >> reporter: a harsh reality but one with some science behind it. last year, researchers of sanford university found out once participants were introduced to their future self, they were more likely to save. sounds good in theory but not experts agree it will actually work in practice. >> i'm not actually sure a stark financial physical picture is exactly what they need in order to compel them to action. >> reporter: with more americans retiring later in life and the

cost of living going up, experts say two-thirds of boomers will not have enough saved to maintain their standard of live, if they can retire at all. whether or not it will actually inspire people to take action, it certainly gets you thinking. >> it does inspire me to save for retirement, absolutely. >> reporter: now, a big thank you to our brave guinea pig, the 2,000 people who logged on to view this app, unclear how many have been spurred as we heard a lot about new year's resolutions right around the corner, if they get to the new year and decide this was scary enough to get them to start saving, we'll see. >> the pictures are really scary. >> if only we had a couple. >> if only we had volunteers to age on national network. >> if only you put your pictures up because you reimburse not too afraid. >> this is 107. >> looks like sophia loren.

i don't think that's that bad. >> that's awful! >> i don't buy it. >> all i know, if that's the picture, i'm not saving for retirement. >> surgeon? >> i know. like $20. how much is a face lift when we're 107? that's what we need to know. >> it will be pretty expensive. a gallon of gas, $57 and plane ticket, $2,000. >> that's a good lesson for all of us. we have some time, right? >> arg! >> arg! >> don, we had a deal! >> there's no such thing as a deal here. don't you know? >> we're out of time. thank you for having me. >> we are out of time. i know, 41, thank you. you're 40.5 so you're right behind me. >> willie talks to leonardo dicaprio about his role in "django" unchained and what he

wishes he had done differently at the height of titanic mania. they're at parties talking cheese. he's talking cheese. she's talking cheese. they're always, always talking cheese. ♪ so when they awarded cracker barrel 2012 gold for cheddar for its rich, full flavor, they knew what they were talking about. cracker barrel. it's cheddar, perfected.

[ male announcer ] bbq bliss. topped with pickles and slivered onions. real pork for real pork lovers. the one and only mcdonald's mcrib. more deliciousness to love. ♪ bada-ba-ba-ba!

she gives me snickers peanut butter squared and i eat it. it's snickers with creamy peanut butter, would you like one? let's just keep an open mind. [ groans ] [ male announcer ] if you like peanut butter and chocolate, you'll love peanut butter and snickers. try snickers peanut butter squared. aunt sally's singing again. it's a tradition, honey. [ singing christmas carols ] mmmm. [ female announcer ] make new traditions with pillsbury grands! cinnamon rolls.

back now at 7:47 with a family who thought they lost very cherished photos forever when they lost the family's memory card and a perfect stranger stepped into the picture. >> reporter: this is that story of the rare intersection of lives, family in south carolina and man in florida will forever be linked to what happened in the mountains of the blue ridge parkway in north carolina. it happened a month ago, david any land on vacation with his family and saw something spa sparkling in the water's edge. >> in the weeds, i saw a memory card from a camera. >> reporter: for most it would have been garbage to toss but

not for david neland or should we say homeland security special age agent. >> i work in law enforcement, yes. >> reporter: burning inside you is the question, who does this belong to? >> absolutely. >> reporter: he extracted the pictures, then his detective skills took over. a badge on a shirt. >> that's me! >> reporter: a teacher there recognized a student, mckenzie fisher, among the images, photos of mckenzie's grandmother, nana she called her, who died more than a year ago with a long battle with cancer. >> she didn't like to have her picture made, so we don't have many of her when she got cancer. >> reporter: to have this now -- >> is great. >> is an amazing gift because we have very few pictures of her. >> reporter: the family had downloaded the pictures but that

computer crashed and photos lost forever but for david's curiosity. >> do you know how it could have made in to north carolina? >> reporter: her parents and former teacher say they're amazed any would take the time to solve this mystery. >> thank you, david. without you, i couldn't have these pictures and these do mean a lot to me. >> reporter: while this remarkable story may seem hard to believe, here's the twist. david, the homeland security agent, he, too, knows what it's like to have a long lost item returned. just this past summer david's grandfather's high school diploma turned up in a garbage truck. a stranger took the time to find david's family and return the keepsake. >> reporter: you decided to pay it forward? >> absolutely, yeah. >> reporter: so for a family in south carolina, there's new comfort this christmas without nana. >> she's here, you know watching over us. like last year, it was hard. it was our first christmas without her. this year, i felt like she's here. >> reporter: a picture perfect

gift from a stranger. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news, pickens, south carolina. a family in chicago was celebrating a really special christmas gift. monique and jeremy houston were married two years ago on december 25th, very nice, right? then, last christmas day, their son, jeremy junior was born, ready for this? >> you must stop there. >> there's more. >> this week, little jeremiah joined the family. guess when he was born? christmas day! >> we should say, these are both natural birth, not planned c-sections on christmas day day. back to back births on christmas day. >> the wife said she feels like she's won the lottery twice over, i would say. i think it's time to play the lottery on christmas day. >> i know. a big day in the family. apparently the baby's grandfather was also born on christmas day. >> wow! >> are you of the theory

birthdays happen in packs? >> it was a very busy spring, i'll say that. >> it was. >> we know what they do in march. >> this raises the question, is et good to have a christmas day birthday. >> you should answer that question. >> two days after christmas, you know, it's okay -- >> never get presents for both -- >> never got the combo gifts. you can't do it. >> can't say that for my sister, sorry. >> you do combo gifts? >> she is the 29th. looks like your bags didn't make it. we'll send them to your hotel. [ sad music playing ] this is fun. [ sad music continues ] [ knock on door ] your bags, sir. thanks.

both: finally! one taste, and you'll understand. enjoy delicious dunkin' donuts coffee anytime. best vacation ever! pick some up where you buy groceries. america runs on dunkin'. yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's clearance time! up to 50% off seasonal decor. 50% off toys. apparel $3 to $9. walmart. but that doesn't happen much anymore. the creative process never stops. and songwriting is so hard, but i love it. these days, i guess i just don't want to miss a thing. [ laughs ] i miss you guys. that's me. and this is my windows phone. [ male announcer ] new windows phone. reinvented around you. ♪ i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup

and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. smoke? nah, i'm good. ♪ [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, you celebrate a little win. nicoderm cq, the patch with time release smart control technology that acts fast and helps control cravings all day long. ♪ quit one day at a time with nicoderm cq. ♪ hershey's makes smiles.

smiles make more smiles. when the chocolate is hershey's. life is delicious. is a little frightening. i weigh myself naked. can i take my clothes off, too? [ woman ] oh, i don't want to look. ♪ [ woman ] let's get it over with. ♪ satisfaction! satisfaction! pizzazz! pizzazz! confidence. i like it! joy! [ female announcer ] tell us... what will you gain when you lose?

this is wbal-tv 11 news. >> good morning. it is time now for a check on your morning commute. >> it is certainly helping that schools are out so a lighter volume of their. we are at 45 on the west side outer loop. east on interstate 70 from 29, 61 miles per hour prior to the belt way. problem-free from the maryland line all the way down to the beltway. 83 here at the beltway checking in at 55 miles per hour.

overall, a nice start on 95 here as we take a live picture at o'donnell down to fort mchenry. that is the very latest. >> temperatures are starting off above the freezing mark. wet roads instead of icy roads. some of those colder spots north and west, mainly just a few patches of ice. 20 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour today, gusting up to 45 miles per hour this afternoon. tomorrow, less wind with partly sunny skies. another storm coming in on saturday. we will definitely have to watch for some light accumulation on saturday and a high of 38 degrees. low 40 printer next week. tuesday, new year's day, maybe a

wintry mix possible. it is something to keep in mind.

♪ ♪ >> who could forget that elaborate marriage proposal. it has been viewed more than 17 million times and its main stars are back with us this morning, along with other top internet sensations we met this year. it is a viral paluso.

>> they're say iing happy birthy to savannah guthrie. >> and we have some on the plaza. a 16-year-old, happy birthday. >> wishing you happy birthday. >> very nice. we will sit down exquisite leonardo dicaprio on jia"djang " unchaine unchained". >> still the king of the world? we will look back at news stories we covered from the glory of the olympic games to the devastating storms. the presidential election and much more. first, let's get today's top stories. natalie morales is at the newsdesk. >> good morning, everyone. a winter storm whipping through the northeast today being blamed for at least nine deaths and record snow in arkansas.

some parts could get up to 2 feet of snow in the northeast and dangerous driving conditions and canceling more flights. president obama cut short his christmas vacation in hawaii to be back in washington today, five days before the fiscal cliff deadline. he's hoping to avert deepening spending cuts and higher taxes. both parties appear to be daring eacher to let the year end without a deal. treasury secretary tim geithner says he will be taking steps tomorrow to prevent the government from hitting its borrowing limit on monday. toyota announced a billion dollar settlement over acceleration problems and will install a brake override system and compensate owners for the alleged reduced value of their cars and trucks. for what's trending today, a quick look at what has you talking online. he's only rock'n roll, but she likes him. actress kate winslet married

british tycoon. and singer janet jackson's engagement to her bit of of two years, a businessman, set for a wedding in the spring in qatar. if you shout max in a dog park, the top female and male dog names followed by buddy. and they're in and old classics like rover are out. good morning. center traffic guy bob hurt zog is going viral with his dance antics. >> you can't go that way. ♪ ♪ try to get to work on time i'm just the man to get threw frere

home ♪ ♪ no no no i'm the traffic man ♪ >> he's actually really good. he has a future there. after a year of dancing, hurt zog put together all his best performances and posted them on youtube. more reason to love a viral sensation traffic man. 8:04, let's go back outside to savannah and willie. >> good stuff. >> looks like we all need to make a little more effort. >> gave us ideas. >> thank you. >> and now sending it over to maria for the weather. >> and soon to be grandparents, we have a sweet 16. what's your birthday wish for yourself and savannah, any ideas? >> no. >> how about a tiara? >> yeah. >> still rain in the northeast and snow. we're also watching the next round of weather coming out of the west. take a look. the snow is beginning in parts of the central plains and going

to add up. another round of heavy snow for some folks, not quite the caliber of this last go around. look at these totals, as much as 6-9 inches and maybe a foot in higher elevations and great news for ski resorts out west, quieting down a little bit, the west coast and sunshine there and a little weather break in the southeast. a cool start and temperatures only into the >> temperatures starting off above freezing. temperatures hold steady into the afternoon with increasing winds. that's a look at your national weather, willie, over

to you. >> thank you very much. coming up, we're very excited. we have live in our studio, the top internet sensations of 2012 including the adorable choreographed dancing twins and the grandmother who almost slipped out of her harness while skydiving. they're all here with us. we will catch up with them after this. turn it around! turn it a! [ woman #1 ] over here! over here! [ woman #2 ] turn around! turn around! [ woman #1 ] i love you! i can't believe it's not butter! neither can i. turn the tub around! show us the back! [ man #1 ] turn the tub around! [ female announcer ] with zero grams of trans fat per serving, i can't believe it's not butter is a superstar! ♪ turn the tub around, and become a believer. [ ding! ] losing your chex mix too easily? time to deploy the boring-potato chip decoy bag. then no one will want to steal the deliciousness. [ male announcer ] with a variety of tastes and textures,

only chex mix is a bag of interesting. aww man. [ male announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes if you need them. visit usps.com pay, print, and have it picked up for free. any time of year. ♪ nice sweater. thank you. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] nothing gets you going quite like the power of quaker oats.

today is going to be epic. quaker up. cheese plate? cheese plate...nope. i made something better. ♪ you used the oven? boom ♪ [ male announcer ] pillsbury crescents. let the making begin. gives you 1% cash back on all purchases, plus a 50% annual bonus. and everyone...but her likes 50% more cash. but i'm upping my game.

do you want a candy cane? yes! do you want the puppy? yes! do you want a tricycle? yes! do you want 50 percent more cash? no! ♪ festive. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card gives you 1% cash back on every purchase plus a 50% annual bonus on the cash you earn. it's the card for people who like more cash. what's in your wallet? back now at 8:09, the 2012 internet sensations on line. they racked up 37 million hits in the process. >> we invited them all back and now back to tell us about life after becoming viral video stars. first stop, twins chloe and alexis who rocked out to dad's guitar. >> you guys ready? ♪ ♪

>> chloe and alexis are here with us again and their parents, john and ashley. good morning, everybody. i don't know if they're going to be in the mood to dance. we never learn our lesson. we will try it again at some point. first, since when talked in august, your video went from 1 million hits to 14 million hits. what's it like to have these famous babies? >> pretty amazing. you really don't think something like that will go worldwide. >> i look at alexis here, she hears her father and starting to dance a little bit. have the babies changed at all? exhibiting any diva-like behavior? >> they dance all the time, i

mean, just watching tv as the song comes on tv, they just start rocking out. yeah. >> one of the things that's so cute and people just love, the way they look at each other right before they start dancing. do they still have that bond or still seem that close? >> yeah. absolutely. it's not as common for them to give that look. it's really random when they do that now, but they've still got this connection obviously a twin has. >> do you still play the guitar to them a lot? >> yeah. everyday i play songs for them. it's like they almost want me to create something new for them. okay, dad. that was back in august. come up with something new. >> that was your composition we heard, right? >> yes, it was. >> we're looking for that follow-up. you've got an lot of comments and so many people have responded. what has meant the most to you? >> people are so nice. there are so many nice things, i

can't -- some people say how, you know, they might have been like down during the day and watch the video and it cheers them up. just so awesome and they need a little pick me up. that's so sweet. so many nice things strangers say. >> it's so fun to see them. i guess chloe is not the morning person among us which we can completely relate to. thank you so much for bringing them. great to see them again. good luck to you. >> thank you. >> how cute are those girls? savannah, thanks. next up, a guy who's been called the best dad ever. steve feeney overcame his own fear of heights to take his daughter on the screaming swing, a ride that certainly lived up to its name. >> never again, thanks, elizabeth! oh, my gosh! o oh! oh oh oh oh! oh oh oh oh!

>> and steve and his daughter, grace, are back with us this morning. good to see i both. >> glad to be here. >> steve, what's it like to watch that video again? is it like reliving the ride? >> no. i can't believe i hopped on it in the first place. it's a good thing it happened. it's been a fun ride. >> why did you hop on it in the first place? i know you're afraid of heights. why did you hop on it? >> the ride was in pigeon forge and my wife was behind and in a store or something and by the time we got to the front of the line an adult had to go with her and i decided to go with her. >> did you have to pull dad's leg to get him on the ride. >> i definitely had to pull some. he wouldn't go on it voluntarily. >> what did you tell him? told him, come on, dad, everybody else is going to on

it. you've been on ride likes this before. it won't be that bad. >> a little daughter pressure works. you've actually gone on that ride again, after we see your various stages of fright there. you went on a second time even after that first ride. why did you do that? >> they actually stopped the ride to let me off because i was screaming so much. once we got done, they were going to make her get off as well. her friend was sitting, ryan and mallory were right behind her. i decided i will do it one more time. it can't get any worse. >> you were telling me a moment ago, the ride provides that video, the theme park at pigeon. and you said i don't want anything to do with it. the person on the ride said they'd like to get it for youtube. and the gal said i want your permission. and they wanted to sell it for $50

50 -- $15 and my friend, brian, said i will help you buy it and split the $15 tab. and we watched it and it was lost for a few days and we assumed the maid took it away and brian stuck it in his suitcase and put it on the internet. >> and we assume brian did it. >> we're now talking about it since it went viral. at first it wasn't a happy moment. >> you said people have stop you'd on the street and said, aren't you the girl in the video? >> it was very fun, especially when i went back to school, oh, is that you? there is someone just like you on tv. >> when did you first start hearing about. i you thought it would be a private video on youtube and maybe the family would hear it. when did you realize it was so big? >> a friend of my dad said he heard it on the radio playing and we went online to see how

many hits it had. it jumped up like thousands of hits in one day. that's when it started going viral. >> steve, you do realize you made the phrase never again grace elizabeth to catch phrase in this country. your daughter's name is now famous in that video. >> it's true, never again. >> so nice to meet you. appreciate you being here. happy holidays. up next, we'll catch up with the couple behind this elaborate marriage proposal. and a woman who went skydiving on her 80th birthday and nearly slipped out of her harness. wait until you hear what she did for an encore. oh it's clearance time!

yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's clearance time! up to 50% off seasonal decor. 50% off toys. apparel $3 to $9. walmart. starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. then i read an article about a study that looked at the long term health benefits of taking multivitamins. they used centrum silver for the study...

so i guess my wife was right. [ male announcer ] centrum. always your most complete. ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage.

citi price rewind. start saving at citi.com/pricerewind. we're back with more of the top internet sensations of 2012. our next guest had united states on them of our seats as we watched her dangle in mid-air during a frightening skydiving mishap on her 80th birthday.

laverne everett is with her along with her sister. good to see you? happy to be here. >> i have to tell you, watching that video is terrifying yet when i talk to you about the video, you don't seem terrified. how common. >> i just had faith. >> you had faith? >> yeah. >> did you sense when you were going out that door that something might be wrong as you slipped out of the harness? >> well, i thought it was a little loose -- but i didn't know -- you know, he told me it would be all right. >> there's no sense of panic. we're watching rht now, there's no sense of panic as you're suspended upside down god knows how many thousands of feet above the earth? yes, i know. >> no panic at all? >> no. not that i know of. >> why did you do interest the first place? 80th birthday, you say it was a good time to start skydiving. >> i just wanted to. i've been wanting to do it for a long time. i had the opportunity and i took

it. >> would you do it again? >> i don't know. i wanted to do it and i've done it, so i'm satisfied with that. >> maybe once is enough. we were just talking in the break, your video now on youtube approaching a million views, 8,000 some hundred views. >> i cannot believe it. >> have you seen it? >> no. i don't have a computer. >> you're not faced by the attention. when did you realize it had become a big deal. >> i still don't. >> you're sitting here so it's big deal. >> yes, i know, still, it hasn't really registered. >> did you have friends or family members who came to you and said, laverne, there is something happening with this video only? >> no. no one. >> no one? >> you had no sense you're such a big deal? >> no. mercy no.

>> now, you've moved on, i'm told, clearly not faced phased the mishap of the skydive, now you're race car driving? >> i don't know. this has me wound up. i'm ready to go. >> tell me about this experience. what are you doing here? riding along in the nascar? >> i loved it. >> in a stock car, what was that like? >> i loved it. >> >> i hear one complaint afterwards, we didn't quite go fast enough. >> i would have loved to go faster. >> i guess the message is don't stop for laverne, go all out. >> put the -- >> put the pedal to the metal. >> skydiving and race car driving, anything else? >> i tell them i haven't done a speedboat yet. >> you want to drive a speedboat? >> i don't want to drive it, i want to be in it. >> you want to be in it? >> yeah. >> i think that can be arranged. you have a good track record.

>> thanks for being here. have a good holiday. the proposal that made women swoon and men jealous, ivan pops the question to his girlfriend, amy with the help of 60 of his family and friends. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey baby i think i want to marry you ♪ >> you've already given me a lifetime of happiness. will you let me spend the rest of my life trying to give you the same? will you marry me? >> isaac and amy are with us. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> i was peeking to see if you still get a little teary when you see that? >> i do. >> rough estimate, how many views have you two had of that video? >> we're at least a million of

the 17 million, don't you think? >> i think so. >> when we last saw you in may, i think it had 7 million and now up to 17 million. did you ever dream it would be this big? >> not at all. i almost didn't film it. i thought at first it would just be her own experience of it and all the people who participated in it said, that's crazy, we want to share all the work we did. >> no one would believe you. >> it's hazard to explain what happened. i'm glad he videotaped it so they can see the experience. >> what kind of reaction have you gotten? why do you think it resonated so much with folks? >> i think because it was such a genuine moment. isaac wasn't doing it too make a viral video. it was a community coming together to celebrate us getting engaged, and i think that's what people respond to. >> that said, isaac, i do think you've set the bar very very very high for any future groom. do you hear from guys on the

stre street, like thanks, man. >> yeah. they hate me. >> you're in the witness protection program now? >> pretty much. >> i tell guys, i honestly believe this. it was real because it was the only way i was ever going to propose to my fiance. if you're the one proposing to your fiance, that's good. >> i will bury the lead here if i don't mention. are you guys going to get married? set a date? >> eventually. >> we set a month. >> august 2014. i'm in nursing school. >> she has things to do. you said yes. we have it on tape. come with us. you tried to give us a little of coaching lessons, willie is limbering up. what do we do? >> amy is going to show you how to make a proposal moment. >> here's the music. we're talking towards each other, playing the trombone. >> i'm hiding. >> you face the front, play the trumpet, and then you play two more times, all right, now, you

go to the right. and left. yeah! . >> like taking an aerobics class. >> isaac >> this is wbal-tv 11 news. >> good morning. let's get a check of the morning commute. >> good morning, everyone. it is looking pretty good out there. speeds around 54 miles per hour. 47 down toward there. south on 97, you are at 61 miles per hour. north side checks out fine but sun glare could become a factor. the jfx looks pretty good at the moment southbound from cold

spring to 28th street been going southbound traffic continuing to move well. 57 mile per hour coming out of the white marsh area. >> the midlantic drying out as the snow and rain continues to push up into the northeast and we're seeing some strong winds behind that storm. fortunately temperatures above the freezing mark across the state right now which is keeping the roads wet rather than icy. i would watch out for a few icy spots north and west of the state. temperatures in the upper 30's to below 40's this afternoon. we do have variable clouds today, partly cloudy tomorrow with a high of 40 degrees and then another storm system on the way. maybe wintry mix by the

afternoon. low 40's into the new year. >> thanks for joining us. we will have another update for you at 8:55.

tina and i are very honored to be hosting your golden globes this year. this show will be like a grenade ready to explode. >> a sexy sexy grenade. >> golden globes are alive on nbc. 8:30 now on this thursday morning, the 27th of december 2012. here in manhattan, a lot of travelers are trying to get home after christmas and we want to say good morning to everyone as we say happy birthday to several people on our plaza this morning. just ahead, willie, you sit down with leonardo dicaprio, you

lucky dog. >> he's nominated for his role in "django unchained," an edgy film and we will talk to him about why he took this role and insightful stuff about the titanic years. we haven't heard him talk about that and how he was feeling then and now. from dip dyed ends to nail art. we look at hottest celebrity trends of 2012 and give a verdict whether they should live on into 2013. we will catch up with some of the bow to wow animals we he helped place in loving homes this year. >> we will meet a lot of them. before we get to that. this is a big important day on the "today" show. you may have heard, savannah guthrie's birthday. >> we have talked about that enough! >> happy birthday. >> happy birthday! >> my gosh! >

>> >> ♪ happy birthday to you happy birthday to you ♪ >> so fancy. i am genuinely surprised. >> we actually know how much you love things wrapped in paper. >> thanks. let me see. not this time. no no, i'm on to you now. >> after the burger performance, we thought we would try it for your birthday. extra fiber on the cake just for you. >> thank you so much, guy, so sweet. >> there are so many birthdays on the plaza, i should hand it out here. >> have a wonderful day. let's get a check on the weather right now. i think we know how it is here and across the country. hello, maria. >> a little bit rainy. we have a nice crowd on the plaza. the question is where does this rain go and when? it eventually moves out of new york city. we're checking for more rain in

the south to southeast. additional snowfall nonetheless and more snow for the northeast to new england. the snow eventually clears out and remains active to los angeles and by sunday, a lot of cold areas, frigid from chicago to minneapolis and a few >> the wind will be picking up. there are some flurries out to the north and west. temperatures hold pretty steady

>> that's a look at your national weather. birthday, over to you. >> i don't think this will quite work. coming up, willie goes one-on-one benefit leonardo dicaprio. this is nbc "today." rocknfoll.

back at 8:36. you may or may not know willie actually insists all of us call him king of the world around here. >> king of the world! >> he met his match when he got a chance to meet the man who made that line famous. >> i said you can go casual and call me sir. >> leonardo dicaprio plays a nasty villian on "django" unshaned, a difficult role that earned him an emmy nomination.

>> what's your name, boy? >> his name is "django" freeman. >> where did you dig him up? >> let's talk about the dark character, passed guy in the classic sense of hollywood bad guy. he's a bad guy, a ma somethisog racist, horrible. >> the most deplorable guy i ever read in a screen play. >> leonardo dicaprio hated his character from the moment quentin tarantino handed him the script. >> rotting from the inside, a louie the 14th brought into the world of entitlement and lived his life essentially owning other people and having his life be dependent on other people's lives. it was an incredible colorful character. i had to play him. >> what did you say, boy? >> calm down, butch. no offense given.

>> none taken. >> tarantino called mississippi plantation boss calvin candy the first villian he's written who he didn't like. >> for dicaprio, the skin of a vicious slave owner was an uncomfortable place to be. >> roscoe, a beer for the man with the beard and i will have a polynesian pearl. do not spare the rum. >> you have to play somebody who doesn't even deem other people as human. you're working with other actors you respect and you have to go in there and essentially cut them off. and treat them as a subspecies to you. it was a very hard switch for me to make. >> we weren't talking business yet, we were discussing my curiosity. >> you did have some early reservations when you first read the script, thought, gosh, maybe it goes a little bit too far. it was sam jackson and jamie foxx said you have to go all the way with this one. people will feel we're holding

back. >> reporter: dicaprio has worked with director like cameron and ea eastwood and spielberg but "django unchained" was his first collaboration with talented tarantino. >> it takes a talented directors like quentin tarantino to say this is a film i want to go about and it will be an incredibly entertaining movie and also funny and will have elements of this spaghetti western aspect. there's only certain filmmakers that can combine all those elements and have the studio say, okay, we'll green light that project. >> in his role as calvin candy, he is a long way from character jack dawson, the character who launched him into hollywood stratosphere. >> i think back to titanic hype mania, 15 years ago, hard to

believe, you could have done whatever you wanted. >> i probably should have done more movies in that time period. i took a solid break. i didn't even understand what a hit was, you know. that movie came out and people were like, this movie is doing amazingly well. good. that's great. no, you don't understand, it's going to be the highest grossing film of all time. great. that's good. cool. what it really did, it gave me an opportunity from that point on to, you know, choose the roles that i wanted to do. >> i'm the king of the world! >> when you look at that guy, 22, 23 years old, whatever he was, standing on the front of the ship in "titanic," what do you see? what do you think? >> when you see yourself at that age, i look at some of my earlier films, you see a different person. i think of somebody still figuring out who they are, still

wanting the same things that i want now, but somebody that i also can't connect with. i don't know what it would be like to have a conversation with that young man. >> funny, you talk to him, he still feels 15 years later like he doesn't quite get what happened with "titanic" and knows it opened so many doors for him. he's really busy this year. "django unchained" in theaters now and "the great gatsaeat gat may." >> i know you guys clicked on the same wardrobe choice. is it true you showed up in the same outfit? >> for the record, i was there first wearing the same shirt and jacket and jeans. he didn't care and i didn't really care. someone else suggested he put on a red shirt so there was a hint of contrast. there is a hint of red in his. >> he's so talented. from the moment he was in "what's eating gilbert grape," i

said he has an incredible future. look at him now. >> next up, dicaprio opens up about an injury he suffered, a pretty bloody one on the shooting of this film and also how to pick a wider array of movie roles. up next, the popular styles and what will and won't be hot in 2013.

back now at 8:44. this morning, the style and holiday trends of 2012. and now a look at the good, the bad and the unusual. good morning to you. >> good morning! >> we will go through the trends and you tell us what they are and we'll discuss whether they're approved for use in 2013 or not. >> exactly. >> let's start with the petlum. >> yes. you're modeling it.

>> it was huge this year. we saw stars like eva stone and and eva longoria and kate middleton was wearing it on her fashion tour and a lot of people think it's flattering and because of the ruffle around the bodice, it makes everyone appear thinner. >> is the peplum approved for 2013? >> i'm happy to say it is approved! >> we saw it on the runway and will continue. >> hair trends, dip dyed ends. >> your face says it all. >> we saw kristina aguilera and britney spears. this seemed to hit the reality show judges more than any else that technicolor on the bottom of their hair. it was interesting, a little rockery. >> do we approve of it for 2013? >> this, i'm happy to report, no!

this is not approved. i think the trend is more natural highlights and not bottom rocker pink. >> pixie cuts. anne hathaway had it, miley cyrus. >> anne hathaway started this and tweeted it and went a full transformation. anne hathaway did it for "les miserables." you have to have the right face cut for it. >> approved? >> this one is approved. it's never going away. >> nail art. >> nail art was huge. excellents really got in on the f fun. an obama manicure an a fun easy way to express yourself. it's a really easy thing to do. >> it's trendy. do we stick with it for 13? >> i will approve this one with the condition it will get a little more practical and you're not going to see any more crazy

feathers and spikes because you want to run your fingers through your hair. >> that is a good segue to our next trend. talons. >> lady gaga, beyonce. lady gaga does her monsters. she's putting her claws out. these are sharp spiky shaped nails, not round or square but actual eagle-like talons. >> don't try put your contacts win with those. >> these are like little weapons. >> do we approve those for 1201? >> this is not approved. this was a passing fad and it will get a little more natural. >> and don't want them to come after me with those talons. >> . >> all over the carpets we saw the trend of sheer cutouts. >> and showing up at the awards with a stun ining cutout

strategically placed. everything else was sheer. four months after she gave birth to baby blue. it set the world on fire. it's a huge huge trend this year. you have to have the right body for it. >> we will keep it for 2013? >> we are going to keep it. keep working out. >> and the top knot. tell us whether we approve it. >> it's just a modern day version of a bun. we saw many wearing it and a look anybody can pull off. >> so we're keeping it for 2013? >> approved. and berry stained lips. >> it would look beautiful on you and scarlet johansen. it has a sexy mysteriousness about it. >> we approve it for 2013? >> approve. >> you also are approved. thank you so much. coming up, 2012 was banner

year year efor bow-wow wow. ♪ ♪

back now at 8:50 with a special edition of but ow to wo. and we're catching up. good to see you. >> this is best gift we and our animals could ever ask for.

loving wonderful homes for our bow to wow and meow to wow angels who have definitely gone from cages to castles. our perfect record kept rolling along in 2012. dogs of all ages, some on three leg, from mini to mighty and all breeds got a new leash on life and a second chance at happines happiness. >> you need to give him a job to keep him happy. >> reporter: oliver, this belgian landed in st. louis and helped to track people who are missing. >> you have the moves. ♪ >> reporter: fenway named after the famous ballpark is a new hit with his family living in massachusetts and obviously top dog acting as ring bearer at his owner's wedding. and each getting star treatment in their home. and some got a royal start.

>> this is one lucky dog. >> reporter: country crooner john rich, along with vanilla ice strutted their stuff to be sure our fur angels would find perfect homes. and harley couldn't be more reverend revved up about his new home in new jersey. dig that jacket. oscar's new digs are definitely up to par, living the high life on long island. >> they are our bride and groom for halloween. >> there's something just wrong about this. >> reporter: from the lighthearted moments to the challenging ones, these dogs have proven to be family's best friend. buddy suited up in preparation for super storm family and comforted his family in the aftermath. cooper is waiting with a wagging tail for his owner, sean, to return from afghanistan.

in our awe of the moment here, who could forget this litter of pups and her mom left abandoned on the side of the road? they all turned out great. like little bella, who waits patiently at the school bus for her beloved owner, norah. and their proud momma gets the lotto of love living large in connecticut. >> in all, we found homes for more than 50 dogs and cats in 2012. a few of the families with us now along with richard from animal control in new york city. good morning, everyone. richard, this has to make you feel great, seeing this lineup, a perfect year. >> i love this segment and everything we do and all these wonderful people that adopted from us, it is very very touching. >> absolutely. let's meet some of the dogs. tell me about buddy. you got him two days before super storm sandy? >> yes. we took him home and he was on the street. he couldn't go on the street sunday. the first time he went on the

street was in the sand, almost two feet of sand that came on our street. >> what has he meant to you as you look to recover? i know your home was washed out. >> we went to brooklyn and is fabulous. he is extremely loving and gets along very well with my other dog. they trail along together all over the place. >> he's beautiful. i want to meet petey over here, the three-legged dog. nicole, tell me about petey. what did you see about him on the show? >> with petey, we saw that adorable face and want to give him a good home. he's incredible. you would never know he has three legs he doesn't let it stop him. >> what has he meant to you? >> he will cuddle up to you and a nice dog and runs around with our other dog. >> they were concerned he wouldn't find a home because he has three legs. we had several requests for petey, goes to show you. >> cooper is a great story. tell us about cooper and who

he's waiting for. >> my son, sean, adopted cooper and sean is currently serving in afghanistan right now. a combat helicopter pilot. >> i'll hold that for you. sorry. we're dog sitting for cooper. he's waiting his owner in mid february. we all can't wait for that. >> does sean keep tabs on cooper back home? >> constantly. >> what kind of dog is cooper? >> cooper is a lab mix, great dog, feisty, great personality. >> we'll look forward to that. >> i couldn't end this segment without having another very special dog up for adoption. this is peyton, a 4-month-old yorkky and terrier mix. i think it is a great gift for savannah. what do you think? >> jill, richard, happy holidays, a perfect year. congratulations, jill. back after your local news.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news. >> good morning. here is a look at one of our top stories. federal officials send more than a billion dollars in aid to victims of the super storm sandy. it is continuing to process requests.

recipients are warned not to use the mone for household bills or purchases

>> the winds are increasing, gusting up to 45 miles per hour this afternoon. later today, temperatures near 40 degrees on friday with partly sunny skies and possibly more snow on saturday.